/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ "Semarak Api" The 88th Firebirds Official Newsletter Website: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/ Online Version: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/newsletter.htm Volume Fourteen, 15 June 1998 Part A /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ PART A: Atten-HUT! Latest News and Updates Bulletin Board So You Want to be a Marine.... Musings of a Guylian-Eating Officer PART B: Interstellar Chat Radio >From the Quill Pen Addresses and Sites /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ <^><^><^><^><^> Atten-HUT! <^><^><^><^><^> It hasn't been a slow month for us at the battlefront. We have a lot of news on the cast of S:AaB, as some news on merchandise that would please the collectors among us. Check out "Bulletin Board" for some important notes. "From the Quill Pen" is revived this month, with a crossover humour written by Sparhawk and your truly. And how could you *not* read the transcript of a chat with James Morrison? ;) Due to space constraint, the format of the e-mail version of this newsletter is slightly changed -- "Musings of a Guylian-Eating Officer" is moved to Part A. Thanks and kudos, as always, goes to Peregrine, Albatross, the 88th Firebirds list, and our much-appreciated source of news: 57th-L, 96th Recon Batallion, and Tactical Dispatch. Semper fi! Captain Yasmin "Garuda" M. 88th Firebirds Squadron <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Latest News and Updates <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND NEWS _Cast and Crew_ James Morrison has completed his work on the film "Abilene", describing the experience as "a joy". He'll soon be working onstage, costarring with Karen Allen in the world premiere of "Getting and Spending" at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. James will play the greatest defense lawyer in the country who is enlisted for one last, big case before he goes off to join a Franciscan monastery. The play is written by Michael J. Chepiga, and will be directed by John Tillinger. Excellent news from Doug Hutchison -- he just landed a *lead* role in the film adaptation of Stephen King's bestseller, "The Green Mile". Doug will play sadistic prison guard Percy Wetmore, acting opposite Tom Hanks, David Morse and James Cromwell. A bit more on "The Green Mile": The director will be Frank Darabont (director: "The Shawshank Redeption", part two of HBO's "From The Earth to the Moon"; uncredited writer: "Saving Private Ryan"). Filming starts in mid-July. If you'd like to send congrats to Doug, his address is: Doug Hutchison c/o Mama Tooms P.O. Box 23397 Seattle, WA 98102 NOTE: If you're requesting a photo, *please* enclose an 8.5x11-inch, self-addressed, stamped envelope (thanks in advance from Mama Tooms!). Joel de la Fuente is currently taking a break from "Peony Pavilion" -- the show is on hiatus until September, when it will be presented at the Barbican Theatre in London. Joel says he had a "great time" performing in Vienna, and looks forward to its run in England. Any British SAABers wanting to see Joel onstage, check out Tasia Valenza ("Kelly Winslow") has been staying busy, mostly working in voiceovers. She did an indie film, "Gut Instinct", around the beginning of the year -- it's currently trying to find a distributor. She's doing a sci-fi animated series called "Tekkaman", a popular Japanese show that's coming to the States. She plays Natasha, whom she describes as "a strong, hard-ass commander." Tasia also travels to colleges around the U.S., lecturing on eating disorders (she has been doing that for several years). And if you see a JCPenney ad on TV -- that's her voice. _Fandom_ Convention help needed: 1. Can anyone help staff a Ready Reserve table at Shore Leave, June 27-28 in Hunt Valley, Maryland? Guests this year are Robert Duncan McNeill (ST:Voy), Bill Mumy (Babylon 5), Erin Gray (Buck Rogers) and J.G. Hertzler (ST:DS9). Website is at If you can work one or both days, please e-mail Kate Duncan 2. Anyone able and willing to staff a Ready Reserve table at a convention near Cincinnati, July 18-19, please e-mail Kate Duncan (kduncan@planetx.com). _Merchandise_ Q's Continuum complete SAAB listing: SPACE: ABOVE & BEYOND ES0001 - Chig Fighter (1/48 scale craft) - $60.00 ES0002 - Chiggy von Richthofen (1/48) - $95.00 ES0003 - "Space Chig" figure (1/8 scale) - $80.00 NEW - Limited Availability ES9719 - "SCVN SARATOGA" - $99.95 1/720 scale (15 3/4" in length) resin and white metal. Experienced modelers only. Call for availability before ordering. ESPI is also in the process of making a much improved Hammerhead, but they don't expect it to be out before August. Skyhook models in Ca has a 'dropship' (ISSCV probably) kit in progress as well. <^><^><^><^><^><^> Bulletin Board <^><^><^><^><^><^> Subject: Fwd: [57th] New Letter campaign of the SRR From: Captain Wildfire , Asian Airwing/41st Squadron Hi all! It seems to me that we Asian S:AABers are giving up on S:AAB... so I just wanted to let everyone know that there're still efforts being made by the North American and European S:AABers to save S:AAB despite its being cancelled 3 years ago. Forwarded message: ---Una wrote: > > Forwarding this for those who are not on Space-L ... > > Una > > >From: Kate Duncan > >Subject: SAaB: [SOS] Operation Phoenix (new campaign) > > > >Here's a new writing campaign! :) > > > >"Space: Above and Beyond" reruns were added to the Sci-Fi Channel's > >programming in January 1998. The series has been performing very well in > >the ratings, and the channel is aware that the show has a devoted, > >demographically desirable fan base. > > > >Twentieth Century Fox Television (who owns the rights to the series) has > >consistently said that they are willing to produce a TV-movie or new > >episodes if someone buys them. > > > >Please write to the Sci-Fi Channel and its owner, USA Network, requesting > >that they contract with Twentieth for a "Space: Above and Beyond" TV-movie. > >Reassure them that an audience is waiting, and the series is even gaining > >*new* viewers... thanks to the Sci-Fi Channel including it on their > >schedule! > > > >Mr. Barry Schulman > >VP of Programming > >The Sci-Fi Channel > >1230 Sixth Avenue > >New York, NY 10020 > > > >Mr. Steven Chao > >VP of Programming > >USA Network, Inc. > >One HSN Drive > >St. Petersburg, FL 33729 > > > >Kate __________________________________________________________ Subject: A salute to the Indonesian marines From: 1st Lt. Buckwheat , Asian Airwing We talk about marines here in the mailing list, namely the USMC. Or Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. The Wildcards, MEU/SOC, all the glorious names. But I myself never really see my own country's Marine Corps in action, until these last few weeks. In times of trouble and fear, only one force took the people's hand and walk the streets together in peace. When others used force, they embraced the angered people. They truly showed their purpose for the country. They are Indonesia's KKO-MARINIR, my country's marine commandos corps. Last Friday night, they successfully prevented war when 40.000 troops were deployed discreetly in the dead of the night to usher out the students from the parliament. Thousands of Strategic Commandos stormed the parliament and used force to usher out the students. Another force moved in and fought them. The army's forces clashed with each other while the students were trapped in the middle in fear. Then the marine commandos stormed in and stood between the opposing forces, they protected the students. The students then agreed to leave the parliament in one condition. Only one force is to escort and protect them on the way. They count on the marines. Marine amphibious tanks APCs soon roam the streets as they escorted the students out. This was never publicized. So I proudly give a full salute to the KKO-MARINIR, the Indonesian Marine Commandos Corps. Semper Fi. __________________________________________________________ Subject: For military surplus freaks From: 1st Lt. Albatross , 88th Firebirds [Forwarded message from uscav.com newsletter] Have you checked out the http://www.uscav.com site lately? We are offering a "limited time only" special of a: * FREE Wrench Pocket Tool * Simply place a $99.00 or more order (excluding shipping) and we'll send it with your order! Carry this wrench and have scissors, a saw, a Phillips screwdriver and a clip- point blade handy, too! While you're visiting our site, check out these Close-Out Items. (Order now, we only have a limited supply.) THE UnBOTTLE ... A great hydration system to take on your outdoor trips. https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WX16707 EASTERN BLOCK SHOULDER BAG ... Perfect for summertime and only $4.88! https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WX16584 We've got some NEW items that are great for summertime! 3M INSECT CREME ... One application can be effective for up to 12 hours! https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17278 SEERSUCKER CAMP SHIRT ... Keep cool when the temperatures soar! https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17648 SIGG FIRE JET STOVE ... The compact design makes it perfect for hunting and camping. https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17602 RUNABOUT SUSPENDER PACK ... A very versatile pack, evenly distributes weight to reduce shoulder or waist strain. https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17264 Don't forget, because we're online, we can offer you items that are TOO NEW for our print catalog! BACK COUNTRY TENT ... Loaded with great features. https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17844 SEAL TAC BOOT KNIFE ... Designed by custom knife maker Jim Hammond. https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17479 COLLEGIATE CAMO ... In the Hottest Camo patterns. https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17830 https://www.uscav.com/Shop/itemdetail.asp?stk_code=WN17833 __________________________________________________________ Subject: World Environment Day From: Captain Garuda , 88th Firebirds June 5 has come and gone, but Happy Belated World Environment Day anyway. So, what did you do to mark that day? http://www.bluemountain.com/cards/box3437s/th855yhbgzeuvzy.htm <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> So You Want to be a Marine.... <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> SUBJ: Additions to Murphy's Laws of Combat Operations (From the "Nam Vet" Newsletter, 24 Oct 91; Submitted by Ken Flory) Some additions from the Special Forces Collection: 51. If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you may have misjudged the situation. 52. If two things are required to make something work, they will never be shipped together. 53. Anything you do can get you shot, including nothing. 54. Whenever you lose contact with the enemy, look behind you. 55. The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map. 56. The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small. 57. If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap. 58. There is nothing more satisfying than having someone take a shot at you, and miss. 59. If your sergeant can see you, so can the enemy. 60. You'll only remember your hand grenades when the sound is too close to use them. 61. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. 62. Well .. It could be worse: It could be raining .. and we could be out in it. 63. So he said, "Cheer up: it could be worse!" So we cheered up. And it got worse. 64. The side with the simplest uniform wins... 65. The spare batteries for the PRC-whatever your troops have been carrying are either nearly dead or for the wrong radio. 66. The ping you heard was the antenna snapping off at 6 inches above the flexmount, while a fire mission was being called in on a battalion of hostiles who know your position. 67. Why is it the CO sticks his head in your radio hooch to see if anything has come down from DIV when you are listening to the VOA broadcasting the baseball games? 68. How come you are on one frequency when everyone else is on another? 69. Why does your 500-watt VRC-26 (real old) not make it across 200 miles while a ham with 50 watts on the same MARS frequency can be heard from Stateside? 70. Know why short RTOs have long whips on their radios? So someone can find them when they step in deep water. <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Musings of A Guylian-Eating Officer <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> THOUGHT: "You must know your mythic origin...Myths humanise the recurrent themes of evolution. You select a myth as a reminder that you are part of an ancient and holy process." --Timothy Leary,Words by Professor Leary-- "If the doors of perception were cleansed would appear to man as it is, infinite." --William Blake-- "O nobly born, let not thy mind be distracted" --Tibetan Book of the Dead-- Kono hito wa watashi o shiawase o ubatta hito. Soshite mou hitotsu no shiawase o kureta hito. This person is the one who took away my happiness. And then, he is the one who gave another happiness. --Old Japanese saying on love and lovers-- "So very simple is the road that we may stray from it." --GK Chesterton, The Wise Men-- "Have you heard the Taoist tale of the Taming of the Harp? Once in the hoary ages in the Ravine of Lungmen stood a Kiri tree, a veritable king of the forest. It reared its head to talk to the stars; its roots struck deep into the earth, mingling their bronzed coils with those of the silver dragon that slept beneath. And it came to pass that a mighty wizard made of this tree a wondrous harp, whose stubborn spirit should be tamed but by the greatest of musicians. For long the instrument was treasured by the Emperor of China, but all in vain were the efforts of those who in turn tried to draw melody from its strings. In response to their utmost strivings there came from the harp but harsh notes of disdain, ill-according with the songs they fain would sing. The harp refused to recognise a master. At last came Peiwoh, the prince of harpists. With tender hand he caressed the harp as one might seek to soothe an unruly horse, and softly touched the chords. He sang of nature and the seasons, of high mountains and flowing waters, and all the memories of the tree awoke! Once more the sweet breath of spring played amidst its branches. The young cataracts, as they danced down the ravine, laughed to the budding flowers. Anon were heard the dreamy voices of summer with its myriad insects, the gentle pattering of rain, the wail of the cuckoo. Hark! a tiger roars,--the valley answers again. It is autumn; in the desert night, sharp like a sword gleams the moon upon the frosted grass. Now winter reigns, and through the snow-filled air swirl flocks of swans and rattling hailstones beat upon the boughs with fierce delight. Then Peiwoh changed the key and sang of love. The forest swayed like an ardent swain deep lost in thought. On high, like a haughty maiden, swept a cloud bright and fair; but passing, trailed long shadows on the ground, black like despair. Again the mode was changed; Peiwoh sang of war, of clashing steel and trampling steeds. And in the harp arose the tempest of Lungmen, the dragon rode the lightning, the thundering avalanche crashed through the hills. In ecstasy the Celestial monarch asked Peiwoh wherein lay the secret of his victory. "Sire," he replied, "others have failed because they sang but of themselves. I left the harp to choose its theme, and knew not truly whether the harp had been Peiwoh or Peiwoh were the harp." This story well illustrates the mystery of art appreciation. The masterpiece is a symphony played upon our finest feelings. True art is Peiwoh, and we the harp of Lungmen. At the magic touch of the beautiful the secret chords of our being are awakened, we vibrate and thrill in response to its call. Mind speaks to mind. We listen to the unspoken, we gaze upon the unseen. The master calls forth notes we know not of. Memories long forgotten all come back to us with a new significance. Hopes stifled by fear, yearnings that we dare not recognise, stand forth in new glory. Our mind is the canvas on which the artists lay their colour; their pigments are our emotions; their chiaroscuro the light of joy, the shadow of sadness. The masterpiece is of ourselves, as we are of the masterpiece." --The Tale of the Taming of the Harp as qouted in The Book of Tea by Kazuko Okakura-- VERSE: Roses: The flowers are easy to paint The leaves difficult. --Haiku by Shiki-- These eyes still pure They're like a shooting star Which goes through the darkness The prove of friendship Is to look for the same dream, a Soldier Dream --Saint Seiya, "Soldier Dream"-- I sent my Soul through the Invisible Some letter of that Afterlife to spell And by and by my Soul returned to me And answered 'I Myself am Heaven and Hell' --Ed Fitzgerald, Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam-- "We dance round in a ring and suppose, But the Secret sits in the middle and knows." --Robert Frost 1874 - 1963: 'The Secret Sits' (1942)-- QUOTE: St Fortunata Girl: You lied to me! Fraser: *draws blank* St Fortunata Girl: ....About being a *woman*?????? Fraser: Oh yes,yes I did. --Some Like It Red, Due South-- Life will never lose its power to surprise you until you are dead. --LM Montgomery-- "When you scratch the surface, everyone's life is a little closer to _Melrose Place_ than we want to admit." --Anonymous-- Urban living is spiritualy suicidal. --Tim Geary-- "It was fun for awhile....but there was no way of knowing." --10000 Maniacs-- Everyone can say just what comes into their heads. _That_ is conversation. --Anne Shirley,Anne of Avonlea-- If it moves, salute it; if it doesn't move, pick it up; and if you can't pick it up, paint it. --1940s saying about the army-- PHRASE: Japanese: Zankoku na kamiga sihaisuru English: The cruel god rules. --Old Japanese saying that applies when calamity occurs-- FUNNEE: Source: Seb Tauchmann The following is the transcript of an ACTUAL radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations, of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in Oct. 1995. Reprinted in the Memorial University campus newspaper. Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision... Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision. Americans: This is the captain of a US Navy ship, I say again, divert YOUR course. Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course. Americans: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER US MISSOURI. WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW ! Canadians: THIS IS A LIGHTHOUSE. Your call. Jesus and Satan have an argument as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they come to an agreement to hold a contest, with God as the Judge. They set themselves before their computers and begin. They type furiously, lines of code streaming up the screen, for several hours straight. Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over. He asks Satan to show what he has come up with. Satan is visibly upset and cries, "I have nothing, I lost it all when the power went out." "Very well, then, " says God, "let us see if Jesus fared any better." Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pours forth from the speakers. Satan is astonished. He stutters, "B-b-but how?! I lost everything yet Jesus' program is Intact! How did he do it?" God Chuckles, "Everybody knows... Jesus Saves." /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ CONTINUES IN PART B